She started toward the bus stop down the block. Then she stopped. It was ten blocks from here to the housing development. The doctor had said she needed exercise. It would save money if she walked it whenever possible. She was going to need every penny. Sandra had said she’d get a job, but she couldn’t count on her promises. She had to keep on relying only on herself as she’d always done.
She turned and started down Peachtree Street. Every step was a confirmation that this was the route she had to go. She had to build her strength if she was going to keep to the schedule she’d set for herself. She had to build her strength to keep the baby strong. She had to find ways to do both. Challenge herself to get through this and come out with all the prizes.
Very grand, she thought ruefully. The only prize she was after was to get home and hope that Sandra was still there and had not flitted off as she usually did.
A small prize, a small step, but she would take it. She would work on the giant steps later.
Six months later
“There’s a man downstairs who wants to talk to you,” Rosa said, when Eve opened the door. “I left him on my bench in the yard. Nice man. He said he’d come upstairs, but he has a bad back.”
“Who is he?” Eve asked. She didn’t really have time to talk to anyone. She had to finish this paper for her English class before she left for work. “Salesman?”
“I don’t think so.” She frowned. “He doesn’t have that slick look. I didn’t get his name. He sort of reminds me of someone.”
“That’s a help.” She came out on the landing and started down the steps. “Look, Rosa, you were supposed to be studying with me this morning and not sitting with the baby on that bench.”
“But he needs the sunshine.”
“And you need your GED. And you’re going to get it. I want you here tomorrow morning.”
“Okay.” She made a face. “You didn’t used to be so bossy.”
“Yes, I was. I just didn’t have time to concentrate on it.” She called back to her, “Now I make the time.”
Rosa leaned over the railing. “Your baby is going to come out of you cracking a whip.”
She grinned as she opened the front door. “I’ll take the chance. That will be two of us to nag you.”
She was still smiling as she turned to the man sitting on the bench. “Hello, I’m Eve Duncan. What can-” She inhaled sharply.
He was a thin man in his late forties or early fifties, with thinning gray-brown hair and olive skin and dark eyes.
John Gallo’s eyes.
“How do you do? I’m Ted Danner.” The man got to his feet with an effort. “I’m sorry to make you come down. I just couldn’t face those flights of stairs. John may have told you that I have back problems.”
“You’re his uncle Ted.” She moistened her lips, trying to recover from the shock. “Yes, he said you injured it while you were in the service.”
“I thought he’d tell you about me. We’re very close.” He smiled gently. “He’s like my own son. He’s a good boy.”
“Why are you here?”
“He asked me to come.”
Another shock. “What?”
“Well, actually, he asked me to keep an eye on you when he left for basic. He said that I shouldn’t approach you, that you’d resent it.”
“But you’re here.”
“I tried to keep myself from coming. But I had to talk to you.” He looked at the front of her maternity smock. “I saw you on the street three weeks ago, and I was… surprised. How far are you along?”
“Eight months.”
“And it’s John’s child?”
“No, it’s my child.”
“But John fathered him?”
She nodded. “But you don’t have to worry. I’m not going to claim him as the father.” She paused. “I prefer he not know. You should agree to that. John said you were eager that he have a career in the military. A baby would just get in his way.” Her lips tightened. “Don’t tell him.”
Ted Danner shook his head. “You poor child. You’re so alone.”
“The hell I am. I’m doing fine. Don’t tell him.”
“I don’t have a choice at the moment. I can’t write to him. I don’t know where he is.”
She stared at him, stunned. “What?”
“Right after basic and Ranger school, he was sent overseas. I heard from him from Tokyo right after he arrived, then nothing.”
“That doesn’t make sense. You have to be able to trace him. You’re military yourself.”
“Unless he volunteered for a special mission. John’s smart and ambitious, and that would be a way for him to rise through the ranks.”
“Just what you’d do,” she said dully.
“That’s what I’ve been telling myself.” He shook his head. “It’s different when it’s someone else doing it.” His voice was husky. “I love that boy.”
She could see that he did. His eyes were moist, and his last words had been unsteady. “But you don’t know anything for certain. He could be fine.”
Ted nodded. “I’ve dropped from the radar any number of times, and here I am with nothing but a bad back. I’ve been doing a lot of praying lately.” He stood up. “I thought you should know in case you wanted to do a little praying, too.”
She was so stunned that she didn’t know how she felt. It was hard for her to believe that the John Gallo she had known could be in any danger. “I’m sure that he’ll be all right.”
Ted Danner nodded. “I thought you should know. But don’t worry too much. It wouldn’t be good for you.” He started down the walk toward the gate. “If I can do anything for you, let me know. It’s the least I can do. John would want me to stand by you.”
“You have your own problems. Your nephew would want you to take care of yourself.”
“You’re a good girl, Eve,” he said quietly. “I can see why John cared about you.”
She watched him walk stiffly down the street. Poor guy, he was really worried, and John was obviously all he had. But he was jumping the gun. She couldn’t believe that John Gallo was dead just because he was temporarily missing. He was so young and strong and tough. Men like him weren’t easily killed. She refused to think that it could happen to him.
Or was it fear that was keeping her from acknowledging that his uncle might have reason to panic? She had still not come to terms with how she felt about John. Just when she had convinced herself that it was purely sexual emotion, his uncle had shown her a love for him that must somehow have been deserved. He had seen his torment as a child and lived with him, been a companion.
She had never seen that torment. He had not let her get that close.
But he had been close enough to give her this child in her body.
Perhaps, even though she couldn’t believe he was truly in danger, she should pray for the father of her child.
CHAPTER 7
DAMMIT, NOT IN THE MIDDLE of the night!
But why not? Babies didn’t pay any attention to the clock. Just make it as inconvenient as possible for the
